John Miller was born in Stratford, Essex on 26 June 1874. A Labourer by occupation, he enlisted into the Royal Marines on 26 September 1892. Serving on the 1st class cruiser Powerful from September 1899, he landed in South Africa in October with the Naval Brigade attached to the Kimberley Relief Force. He was present at Belmont, 23 November and Graspen, 25 November 1899, and was wounded in the latter action. A total of 31 medals with the single clasp ‘Belmont’ were issued to the ship. His next seagoing posting was on the sloop Perseus, March 1901-April 1904, during which time he served in Somaliland. He was discharged after completing his period of engagement in September 1904 and in February 1905 he enrolled in the Royal Fleet Reserve. With the outbreak of war he was mobilised. He was killed in action on 22 September 1914, aged 40 years, when the armoured cruiser Cressy was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-9. He was the son of James Miller of Maryland Point, Stratford and husband of Kezia Miller of 40 Strode Road, Forest Gate, London. His name is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial.

At the time of her loss the Cressy was engaged in rescue operations, attempting to save the crews of her sister ships, the Aboukir and Hogue both of which had been torpedoed by the U-9, when she too was fatally hit. As the Cressy was the last to be attacked all her lifeboats were away and mostly filled with survivors from the other two ships. She therefore possessed little means of saving her own crew and as a result, the loss of life on the ship was very heavy. The total loss of life in this triple disaster was over 1,400 men.